National Treasure: Stolen
by Artemis'Fury
Summary: Ben's sister Jane has reluctantly agreed to come along for the National Treasure ride, but what happens when things get out of control? IanOC RileyOC possibly
1. Chapter 1

**AN:**_Hello everyone! This is my first story that I have actually ever written, so forgive me for any unchecked errors that the story may contain. Constructive criticism is welcome, just be nice, okay? I'm new at this. Onto the story!_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of National Treasure. The only thing I own are the characters that came into this story that were of my own making. **_Enjoy!_

I usually meet with my brother twice a month for lunch. As siblings we have always been generally close. For the last month, however, I have neither seen, nor heard from Ben. That's why I was so glad when he called and asked me to meet him for lunch. As a little sister, I get worried-he's the "normal" one in the family, and if you knew my family you would understand what I am saying.

We both sat in a booth in the back of the café around the corner from where I work. Both of us ordered and were eating our food, lest I was. Ben was just pushing his around his plate using his fork. He was debating telling me whatever it was that had spurred his irrepressible excitement when he first called me. I couldn't handle it any longer, he was driving me insane. I put down the spoon I was using and spoke, "What is it Ben?"

He gave me that excited, hesitant smirk that suggested he was really passionate about whatever it was.

"Ben?" I was smiling at him. His passion was semi-infectious. He looked up at me and exhaled sharply while leaning in closely.

"I think I've found it."

"Found what?"

"I believe I've located the _Charlotte_...well the general area of the _Charlotte_ at least."

"Ben, what are you talking about?" I was confused. He was a little annoyed. Ben tried to sound as sane and mature as possible while explaining it all to me.

"The _Charlotte_. You know," he handed me a small scrap of paper, that was very dated and wrinkled. I carefully opened it to read the words on the page and at the same time, to hear them being read back to me. "The secret lies with _Charlotte_."

I know I had a blank stare on my face. It took a while for everything he said to register. When it finally did, I was skeptical.

"The treasure, Ben? Again?" I sighed. I thought he had given up on that. His smile that had so vibrantly relayed his enthusiasm was disappearing. I didn't mean the words to sting, but he had to know that this whole treasure thing wasn't healthy.

"Oh Jane, not you too. I thought you would be excited about this. It's one more clue. One step closer."

"No Ben, it's one more disappointment. There is no guarantee. I thought you would understand that by now." I could see the hurt in his eyes, so I tried to switch tones. "I am excited about this. It's always fun to go out and explore these places, not knowing what is going to come out of it, but that's just it, Ben. You've invested your whole life in this, not knowing what is going to come out of it." I sighed. "So where is this _Charlotte_?"

He rubbed his eyes then looked at me. "That would be Anartica."

"Anartica?! Geez Ben you aren't kidding around." We both went silent for a time. Then I spoke. "You know dad won't fund another trip." Ben nodded. "You and I both don't have the money. You don't have a team put together." At that he raised his hand to silence me.

"It's all taken care of. You don't have to worry about anything...or dad knowing anything." I looked at him skeptically, he continued on, "Really Jane. It's all taken care of. I've gotten a team setup that are awaiting the word go. Everything has been paid for. We are good to go."

My eyes must have buggered out of my sockets.

"We? Oh no, no, no. Ben I can't go. I have a job, remember. I'm one of the weird insane lots from the Gates family." He was thinking hard. I could tell he really wanted me go and in truth, I really wanted to go. I knew Ben, how he was, how infectious his passion for this treasure, for this history was. Every summer, while I was on my break from college, he and I would go "treasure hunting." It was always so much fun, but things were different now. I had responsibilities and couldn't just shirk them away.

"Don't you have some unused vacation time coming up? What is it? Two-weeks paid I think it is?" I gave Ben an annoyed look. "Come on," he said more deeply, "I can't do this without you." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, you'll see some great scenery."

"Yeah, snow Ben. Miles of snow. It's really cold."

"So are you in?" I pinched my bridge of nose.

"I guess, but only on one condition." The smile returned to Ben's face.

"Name it."

"Dad doesn't hear a word of it."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**_ Here's the second chapter...I know the first was kind of short, but it was really just to get it started. I think that this one should have more quantity. And some one tell me what you think. Love it or hate, I'd like to know whether I should invest my time in writing more or not. Anyways, onward!_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from National Treasure. Jane, she is really the only thing I own.**

The next couple of days I spent preparing for the trip. There was so much to do! I hadn't taken a vacation in a really long time. I had no idea how much work actually went into taking one. First, I had to inform my bosses at the museum that I was going to be taking that two-week paid vacation that my contract said I was entitled to. As event coordinator for the Washington National Museum, I had to make the last preparations and leave instructions for any scheduled event that had been scheduled during that two-week period. Last but not least for my office, I had to organize it and get it straightened. Most people can leave to go somewhere for a while and not be bothered by mess when they get back. Not me. So I had to make sure that everything was in it's right place and looked half way decent.

Then I had to hit my home. The same rule applies for my home as it does my office, so I spent the weekend cleaning it. Aside from that, I had to pack. The trip was only supposed to take around three days, but I'm a girl, so packing was a long, arduous process. Ben told me to take "only the bare necessities." Well, it was hard deciding what exactly those were. When it came down to it, I ended having to go shopping for most of what I was going to need. I don't own snow boots or snow jackets, so I ventured out to some shops that sold blizzard-like apparel. By the time Sunday came around, I was ready for my vacation.

Ben called me Sunday night to make sure I was prepared and to leave instructions for the following morning. "You and I will rendezvous inside Dulles at the Starbucks around 4:30a.m."

4:30 in the morning?! The flight didn't leave until 6. Whatever, I kept my mouth shut.

"You got it Ben." He went silent for a moment.

"Do you need me to call you?" I laughed at that.

"Yeah you might." What can I say? I suck at waking up to alarms clocks.

"I'm glad you're coming," Ben blurted out.

"Yeah, me too Ben. I'll see you in the morning." We hung up the phone, and not long after I was asleep.

All too abruptly, I was awoken by some pretty intense ringing. My alarm clock, the alarm on my cell phone, and my telephone were all going off or ringing. Without thinking, I picked up the phone first. "Hello?" I said huskily.

"Morning sunshine."

"Ugh. Ben. You can only call me that if the sun is actually shining."

"Well you better get shining. It's 4a.m." Crap.

"I'll be there in a minute." I jumped up, turned off the alarms and got in the shower. I got myself semi-prepared-no time for makeup-got my luggage together, and flew out the door in world record speed. Calling a cab took longer that me getting ready. By the time I finally got a cab, it was 4:20.

"Dulles airport, as fast as you can go." I lived across town. I doubted the cabby's ability to actually get me there on time, but surprisingly enough, I was only two minutes late. I got my luggage and made a dash for it. Ben could be a pain in the ass when you're late.

As I rounded the corner of the Starbucks, I saw him. And then the excitement hit me. It had been so long since I had done anything like this.

"You're late."

"I'm here an hour and a half before the actual flight. What were you expecting? Weirdo." I knew he was going to give me crap. Ben just smiled.

"Let's go get some breakfast while I catch you up to speed on everyone before they meet us." We walked over to the airport restaurant, took a seat then ordered. After our waitress left with our orders, Ben handed me a black binder which he had been carrying.

"This is the information on the crew." He turned the page to page four and pointed at it.

"Ian Howe?" I read then looked up at him baffled.

"What about him, Ben?"

"That," he said still pointing, "is our meal ticket."

"Ah, I see. He's the unlucky bastard whom you finagled into this little trip." Ben made a funny face.

"Ha ha. No, he's the very generous man that actually knows a good deal when he sees one." I rolled my eyes, but said nothing else. I began flipping through the other pages. "And who are these other people?"

Ben flipped a couple of pages from where I stopped, then said "Riley Poole. He's the one I was telling you about. Remember, the tech specialist in the cubical?"

"Right, right." I pointed to the other pages in the binder. "And these guys?"

Our food came at that moment, so I closed the binder, put it away and then thanked the waitress.

As soon as she left, Ben answered my question. "Those are Ian's associates and our crew." I had to laugh at that.

"Ian's associates? What does he do?" That's when I saw it, that flicker of agitation. It was only on Ben's face for a split second, but that was long enough for me to pick up on it. I gazed at him.

"Ben, what does Ian do?" He hesitated before answering.

"Ian is a treasure hunter, a historian in some respects. Much like us." He quickly scooped a bite of egg onto his fork and shoved it into his mouth.

"How did he get the money for this trip?" I asked, not willing to back down on this.

" I don't know."

"How can you not know! We're taking a trip to Antarctica with this man and you have no idea how he acquired the funds to take us all on this excavation? For all you know he could be a convict!" This was entirely reckless of Ben. How could he be so desperate? Ben looked past me then put his hand over his face.

"Actually that would be ex-convict," a deep, foreign voice said behind me. I turned to face the speaker. "And actually I'd like to know how you came up with that assumption."

It was Ian Howe.

_So, love it? Hate it? Let me know._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks to everyone who did review. I tried my best to make this chapter longer...obviously, I am having problems with the length. Anyways, hope you enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of _National Treasure_, though I wish I owned a little something of _National Treasure_ because then that would mean I was rich, which I'm not, so there. **

**Well, Jane, she's mine.**

So I don't think that I have to say the word awkward? I wanted answers to my questions, I just wasn't really looking to take it to the direct source. A little late, I suppose. Ben looked embarrassed. "Ian Howe, this is my annoyingly inquisitive sister, Martha Jane Gates." I rolled my eyes at that; he always used my horrid first name only when he wished to humiliate me. Ian held out his hand to me and I hesitantly took it. I felt horrible. Well, not that I felt bad for what I said, I felt bad for him hearing it. I looked up at him with remorseful eyes. Frankly, I didn't know the guy and he kind of frightened me.

"Really, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-..." He held up his hand to silence me.

"No need." He swept passed me to sit next to Ben. "I'm used to people and their questions." Ian flashed me a very charming grin. Yep, I thought, the money was definitely not obtained legally.

"These are the rest of the crew," Ben chimed in. I watched Ian shift his gaze, so I did likewise and laid my eyes upon four very large men. Large isn't really the correct term; muscular. They looked like body guards. If Ian frightened me, these men made me want to run for hills. Ben pointed to each man as he spoke.

"Shaw...Phil...Victor...and Shippen."

"Nice to meet you," I said and they all grumbled something back to the effect of "same here" or "likewise." Ben looked down at his watch, "So I guess we're just waiting on Riley." The waitress came over to fill me up on coffee and took the orders of the rest of our little entourage.

I have to admit, I was a little bored. Ben and Ian were engrossed in some form of conversation that I wasn't understanding. Guy things. Ian's bodyguards were all draped across chairs at the neighboring table, discussing something of a similar nature to Ben and Ian's discussion. I really wished Riley was a girl.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I heard this loud crash to my posterior. I turned around to see a gangly young man on his knees attempting to help one of the waitress' pick up her tray's contents from the floor. Apparently, the man hadn't watched where he was going and tripped over a chair causing the girl to trip over him. "I'm so sorry," I could hear him say. He felt completely awful, you could tell, and the waitress was oddly enough not even mad about the incident. I couldn't help but laugh; how embarrassing.

"Sir, it's okay. I've got this. You go take a seat and someone will be with you shortly." He seemed oblivious to her speech and continued on. "I really am sorry," he kept saying.

"Out of all the computer techs in the world, you had to pick Fred Astaire." I looked at Ian and laughed. So this was the elusive Riley Poole.

After everything was placed back on the tray, the gangly man got to his feet, grabbed his bag (not without apologizing _again_), and walked over to us.

"Glad you were willing to do whatever it took to get here, but taking down a waitress was a little much, Riley."

"Yeah, thanks Ben." Riley turned and looked at me, I was still laughing. "So, Ben, did you decide to pro-create during the night, or is this your sister?" I stopped laughing.

"Riley Poole, this _is_ my sister, Jane Gates."

We both looked at each other and said "Pleased to meet you." Riley took his seat next to me. He looked rather young, but according to Ben he was only a little less than a year younger than me. He bent over his seat, unzipped a bag, and wrenched out a laptop, turning it on. We both watched the screen while it booted up. After logging in, Riley pulled up a screen that had an image on it. It looked like a satellite image only in X-Ray type. I had never seen anything like it.

"What is that?" I asked. Riley turned to look at me.

"That is the image from the SHAAR's." He turned back to his screen and starting typing input into the screen. Immediately that image was zoomed in and I could see a little better what the image was focused on.

"Wow," I was engrossed. "How are you able to manipulate it like that?"

Riley gave Ben a daft look. "Have you told her nothing?" Ben just looked at him, so Riley embarked on an explanation. "The SHAAR's is _the_ satellite for archaeologists to use to locate sites of possible 'treasure'. It acts as an X-Ray system to allow those using it to focus in on what is below the surface of the earth before a huge amount of time is invested in the dig." I looked at him.

"I know what the SHAAR's is, I asked how are you able to manipulate it like that?"

"A little hacking here and there and I'm in it's system." I must admit, I was impressed. The security around that thing must have been insane. "How did you bypass the security?" This is where Riley got a little sparkle of devilment in his eye.

"I didn't bypass the system's security. I joined it by creating my own personnel folder. It thinks that I am part of the security, so the system doesn't suspect a thing." Once again, I was impressed. It seems Ben really knew who to pick. I only hoped Ian and his cohorts were as valuable.

I turned to look at Ian. There certainly was something intriguing about him, but to be honest, he still looked like trouble. It was only a question of what kind of trouble. "See the beauty of this little project is that, not only through research, but also through some pretty amazing technology, we managed to find the _Charlotte_." Riley was a welcome interruption from my own thoughts.

"So is that what you were homing in on?"

"Yep."

"It's incredible. It really is. Ben, I have to say I am impressed. I had no idea that you had invested so much into this expedition." Ben gazed at me.

"Why not?"

"I just figured that it was another trip, like the ones we used to take when I was on college break." He chuckled at that. "Ya know, all those little trips we used to take are what lead to this big trip." With that, Ben checked his watch again. "Alright, I think it's time we headed toward the gate, its 30 till." I started thinking, that would be something if with all this planning, we missed our flight. The irony would be gruesome.

So we gathered all our bags and headed to check in.

Staring out the plane window, I took in the scenery. It wasn't much: a blue sky, a few clouds, but it never ceased to amaze me every time I would fly. "So what is it that you do, Martha?" Coming from behind me, Ian sat next to me. I cringed at the usage of my first name. How I hated it. Ian chuckled then said, "Or is it just Jane?"

"Just Jane, please." I said, almost begging. I smiled. "I really hate my first name. Unfortunately my whole family is crazy over history, so I get named after the first first lady." Ian smiled back at me. We both had gotten off to a better start since we boarded our private flight. Or chartered I should say, since none of us owned the plane. He was actually a gentleman; much more agreeable than I had once thought. Maybe this trip wasn't going to be so bad.

"I'm an event coordinator for the Washington National Museum." He gave me an approving nod. "Yeah," I laughed, "it's real exciting. I know. But believe it or not, I get to meet some interesting people some times."

"Are they a live?" He quipped playfully.

"Yes." I answered. "Let's see, one time, this boy was having his birthday party at the museum. He was about 9 or10, I can't really remember. His parents thought that it would be a good and probably intelligent idea to have his party there. They thought of everything. The food, the gifts, the invitations. They did a great job of organizing the thing. However, they forgot one very important detail."

"Which was?"

"To ask the boy what he wanted." Ian looked at me quizzically. "See we had this dinosaur display at the time, well we still do have it, anyway. It was really something; the creatures moved, made noises, it was just spectacular. The boy, however, took one step into that area and started screaming. He ran outside and refused to step foot back into the museum for fear of a dinosaur getting him." Ian was laughing and I was giggling. Of course, it wasn't really funny, the poor little boy.

"So, what is it that you do?"

"Legitimately?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes then laughed, "Yes, legitimately."

"I actually own a restaurant."

I feigned laughter after hearing that. I didn't believe him. "Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. Business is going well, too."

"Really? That's amazing."

"Why?"

I thought for a moment before speaking. I sometimes have an ability of saying the stupidest things, even after thinking them over. I said it anyways. "You don't look like an entrepreneur."

He laughed at that, "I guess just a convict then?" He winked at me.

"No, no. I didn't mean that-..."

Ian put a hand on my knee and leaned in to speak. "I'm just kidding. It's okay, really."

I have to admit, he sort of took my breath away. I pressed on with my explanation. "I just meant you don't look boring enough to own a restaurant."

Ian gave me a side long glance before turning to look at me straight away. "Well that's good," he said. "Because the more you get to know of me, I think the less and less boring I'm going to seem." Was that a hint of flirtation I detected? I know I smiled, but I must have blushed as well. I guess he took my red cheeks for a green light. He stood up. "You really don't look like you fit your job, either." I raised a furtive brow at that. "You're much too attractive to be holed up in some dank museum." Shaw had gestured for Ian to go over to him at that point. "Excuse me," he said and walked away.

_You know, I think I might enjoy writing this story. Also, I hear reviews are in this season. Why don't you give me one?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:** Well hello my very loyal readers. Long time no update, I know. This is relatively short, but I was in shock that I was still getting reviews for this story, so I decided to put something up fairly quickly. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm so glad someone likes this..._

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I turned around and watched Ian walk away. I'm sure I was beat red, being such a shy creature. Was he being serious? Or just flirting? I tried not to think about it; that is usually what gets me in trouble...obsessing.

So I turned and tried to engage Riley in some conversation. He was good company, actually; he made me laugh. He pulled out all these neat little gadgets and devices that were high tech. I deal in ancient artifacts, so I essentially had no idea what any of the stuff that he pulled out was, even after he explained it to me. Aside from anything that I dealt with or used in my line of work, I was clueless to technological advances. Though I do own an Ipod.

"So where did you graduate from?" He told me, and I gave an approving nod. It was definitely not where I would have placed him.

"I stayed local for my parents, but once I graduated I came to D.C."

"You stayed local for your parents?" I asked. "Were they sick?"

Riley smiled at me, almost scathingly. "No. Nothing too serious. It was more a matter of money."

"Money?"

"Yeah," he cleared his throat, "See they had it, and I didn't."

I had to laugh at his sheepishness. It was endearing. However, he misunderstood my laugh's intent. Riley gave me a dirty look.

"No! No, I wasn't laughing at you! Well, I was, but not at you. Not about what you were telling me. It was the way you said it. It was cute." I stifled back a laugh. He kept his annoyed look. "So, why did you end up in D.C.?" It was my attempt to change the subject.

"It was where I found a job," he said at length. I thought he was still ticked off when he furrowed his brow and wrinkled his nose. "You know, I don't know why I ended up in D.C. I guess, fate." I gave him an inquiring smile over his last comment, he continued. "If I hadn't of moved to D.C., I never would have met Ben, which means I probably never would have ended up on this incredibly insane hunt for _this _treasure."

Ben chose that moment to walk over to Riley and myself and interrupt our conversation. "Riley, do you mind? I'd like to have a word with my sister."

I laughed. Not at Ben but at Riley. He had the funniest look come across his face at that moment. It was a mixture of confusion and compliance. "Sure," he said while standing and retreating. Ben walked over and took a seat.

"So how are you enjoying your time?"

I looked at him for a moment before narrowing my eyes uncomfortably. "Fine," I said cautiously. Him asking that usually didn't mean something good.

"Good," he said, then gave me a sheepish smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Ben what is it?"

"Just stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay?"

He sighed. "I just have to be sure that you are okay at all times."

His plea made me sit back and think for a moment. First, he was excited for us to be on this trip together, now he sounded less sure of himself. I wondered what had caused this sudden apprehension. I looked to my right and saw Ian still talking with Shaw. Could he have said something to Ben? Ian caught sight of me looking at him and smiled. I returned the gesture. "Is there something I should know?" I asked, as I returned my gaze toward my brother.

"No. Just being the overprotective brother."

_Right. _"You're not telling me something." I paused to observe the look on his face, but to his credit, he betrayed nothing. He just kept that stupid grin plastered across it. I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. We were quiet for a time before I finally spoke again. "How long until we get there?"

"I would guess roughly two hours."

I nodded my head and stood up to grab a pillow from the over head compartment. Settling back into my seat, I adjusted my pillow until I was comfortable. "What do you think you're doing?" Ben asked.

"Taking a nap, since you refuse to inform your 'partner' sister of what's going on. Wake me up before we land."

The last thing that I saw before dozing off into a quiet slumber was Ben's face, warm and endearing.


End file.
